(This was actually written on Friday before we left LAX on our second attempt – I had some internet and WordPress problems and lost the post completely for a couple of days and then got back about half of it)
Just a crazy observation from my “travel” adventure of the last 24 hours. I have a new hatred for the word “deplane”. In my 40-some odd years I have seldom felt the need to take notice of this word, let alone use it in any meaningful way. But last night at about 11:00pm I was accosted by the word “deplane” in a painful and depressing way.
Picture if you will, after a 3+ hour delay in the airport we were finally, and hurriedly, loaded onto the plane. Let’s say we got “planed”. I was all settled in. There were actual, real-life, standard power plugs, standard ear phone plugs and usb ports at each seat! My phone was plugged in as was my tablet, my earbuds were in and working and I had already started watching the new “Oz” movie. Life was indeed good.
Suddenly, the audio of my movie was interrupted by what I feared from the start was NOT the pleasant voice of the pilot welcoming us on board. Sure enough, the voice used the evil word “deplane”. I’m not even sure what else he said, all I knew was that my comfort was at an end. I would have to disconnect and pack away my comfortable electronic connectedness and re-enter the terminal.
After some 4 plus hours of negotiation and computer gymnastics, we were re-booked in two separate groups, one continuing on through Japan and the other by way of Shanghai. The problem was that the flights were not until noon (Japan) and 3pm (Shanghai) the next day (well actually later this day as it was now about 4:30 in the morning). Another hour and a half later, we arrived in comped hotel rooms to get a little shut-eye before the next leg of our journey was to begin.
This brings me to my new favorite word – phrase actually – “blackout curtains”. From about 5:30am to 9:00am I got the best sleep ever for it being daytime – the curtains fooled me into thinking I was sleeping through the the night. After a wonderful shower, I was refreshed and ready to give this travel thing another go.
Even through it all, I would hardly call any of this “missional suffering”. We were always in clean, air-conditioned safety and comfort, we always had access to clean water and plenty of food, and we were going through all of this to get onto an airplane – a luxury that the majority of people in this world will never even experience in their lifetimes.
On with the journey…
